Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Register
Examples: Monday, today, last week, Mar 26, 3/26/04
Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.

Here is a mystery.. number stations

RichardHRichardH Veteran
edited February 2012 in General Banter
The first time i ever heard a number station was while on a canoe trip in northern Ontario. Me and a friend both had radios in case we got separated, or needed to call the (great lakes) coast guard in case of an emergency. While tying to find the coast guard frequency I came across a distant monotone female voice, reading and endless stream numbers in a slow robotic rhythm...

7..22..54..12..87..23..12..45..76..5..78..12..54..96..4..23..87..8..23..66..23..98..45 ....

it was haunting, considering our extreme isolation, and it had no explanation. My friend said it was a number station... something to to do with government activity... not sure what. There is speculation online about what number stations are for... but I have yet to here a definitive answer....

Comments

  • BrianBrian Detroit, MI Moderator
    Ahhhhh crap! This is one of the few, and I mean FEW things that actually make me nervous/disturb me.

    I blame growing up in the 80's during the Red Scare! :p
  • BekenzeBekenze
    lol Wat. That's freaky.

    Jeez. NewBuddhist turned into SpookyBuddhist tonight.
  • BrianBrian Detroit, MI Moderator
    Ugh. This shit bothers me! http://priyom.org/number-stations/slavic/s28.aspx
  • BekenzeBekenze


    This bothers me...
  • RobertRobert
    Yulia-Vladimir-Miroslav-Oksana один-десять-шесть-шесть-шесть-семьдесят девять. «Повторяет сообщение» BEEP.
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    That is strange, I am sure it would feel a lot more stranger if I actually experienced it rather than reading about it. How long did you listen to the number readings for?
  • Telly03Telly03 Veteran
    Interesting... I have no idea

  • BrianBrian Detroit, MI Moderator
    Yulia-Vladimir-Miroslav-Oksana один-десять-шесть-шесть-шесть-семьдесят девять. «Повторяет сообщение» BEEP.
    Diiiiiiick
  • DaltheJigsawDaltheJigsaw Mountain View Veteran
    Yulia-Vladimir-Miroslav-Oksana один-десять-шесть-шесть-шесть-семьдесят девять. «Повторяет сообщение» BEEP.
    I can read!:)
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    Did you guys smoke something last night?
    And why wasn't I invited.....?
  • zombiegirlzombiegirl beating the drum of the lifeless in a dry wasteland Veteran
    edited February 2012


    This bothers me...
    For a while, this was my alarm on my phone. Although, to be true to my name (and because of my age), I associated it more with the game Silent Hill since this sound was what fired directly before a dimensional shift.

    What can I say... it woke me up, haha.

  • shanyinshanyin Novice Yogin Sault Ontario Veteran
    Hmm I'm.from northern Ontario I wonder if my buddies want to go out where u were for a.listen lol where were u
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    Hmm I'm.from northern Ontario I wonder if my buddies want to go out where u were for a.listen lol where were u
    Killarney, back country, late October... La Cloche range.



  • SileSile Veteran
    edited February 2012
    Numbers stations have been around for quite some time. If you go to the ham (amateur) radio or shortwave listening forums you'll find interesting discussions on them. I spent an inordinate amount of time listening to numbers stations as a kid. Lord only knows what I've been subconsciously programmed to do, lol.

    I remember some of the transmissions coming in so strong that the little portable shortwave I had would actually be buzzing in my hands. Lots of Slavic stations; funny, I don't recall ever hearing a Chinese one. Tons of Spanish stations.
  • DandelionDandelion London Veteran
    BBC Radio 4 Documentary about Number Stations on the link:
    http://numberstations.co.uk/the-lincolnshire-poacher/

    I had never heard of Numbers Stations till now. Fascinating. @RichardH your story reminds me of a painting by Peter Doig:

    http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/artpages/doig_Canoe-Lake.htm
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    Great thread :thumbsup:
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    Thanks Leon, glad you like it.....

    Oh....

    Hang on......
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited February 2012
    That is strange, I am sure it would feel a lot more stranger if I actually experienced it rather than reading about it. How long did you listen to the number readings for?
    Hi Tom.. sorry, didn't see your question.

    It was actually a pretty disturbing situation. We were in a wilderness area bounded by white quartzite mountains.... a long paddle and portage from the access road to the south.
    We had a cargo canoe with a kayak in tow. Once setting up camp we agreed that we would each do our own thing. I painted in camp, and he took the kayak to do some freehand cliff climbing several miles to the east. We were supposed to check in with each other by radio every two hours. Apart from the elements and the confusing bush, it isn't that dangerous, bears for instance are still scared of people and do not harass. But, after the second check-in I could not reach him.. and as the sun began to set an autumn gale moved in and I got worried. Being left alone with the cargo canoe I was windbound. I made a big fire and started to consider calling for assistance from the coastguard... imagining my friend lying injured in the hills somewhere. That's when I began searching for the frequency and encountered the number voice... it was... odd. I listen for a while thinking it might have nautical info, conditions on nearby Georgian Bay... but it just went on all spooky . I eventually found the coast guard frequency and was just about to make the call when my friend stumbled into camp covered in scratches and abrasions. He and dropped his radio down a mountain notch, then had his GPS go all screwy. It was in an interesting trip.



  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    They're illegal to listen to, according to the video Telly posted. How are the governments involved planning to enforce that particular law, which no one has ever heard of? Where in British or American law does it say that listening to these ostensibly secret stations is illegal?
  • SabreSabre Veteran


    7..22..54..12..87..23..12..45..76..5..78..12..54..96..4..23..87..8..23..66..23..98..45 ....
    Haha, now that's funny! :buck:

    27.. 30.. 23.. 28.. 99.. 38.. 12!!!!!! :D
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    no, that doesn't work, you left 16 out....
  • Telly03Telly03 Veteran
    They're illegal to listen to, according to the video Telly posted. How are the governments involved planning to enforce that particular law, which no one has ever heard of? Where in British or American law does it say that listening to these ostensibly secret stations is illegal?
    We don't know if they are really "secret" stations, it's just speculation, but yes, very curious. I have no idea of who they were qouting about it being illegal, but it is not illegal to monitor open airways in the US... the key behind our monitoring laws is the "sense of privacy". I used to be able to legally monitor my neighbors cell phone calls, but the laws changed after encryption and freq hopping techniques became standard.

    Even though the numbers could be considered "encryption" it is still not scrambled in a data encryption method that would imply privacy, it is still in the clear... so even if someone could break the number station codes, if that is the purpose, they would have nothing to worry about, and it may even look good on a resume if they had a desire to work in the Intel business as a Crypt Analyst or something.
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    the dingo when south to water fall...mark.. the dingo went south to the waterfal.


    7..22..54..12..87..23..12..45..76..5..78..12..54..96..4..23..87..8..23..66..23..98..45 ....
    Haha, now that's funny! :buck:

    27.. 30.. 23.. 28.. 99.. 38.. 12!!!!!! :D
    oops.. it wasn't..

    7..22..54..12..87..23..12..45..76..5..78..12..54..96..4..23..87..8..23..66..23..98..45 ....


    it was..

    7..22..54..12..87..23..12..45..76..5..78..12..54..97..4..23..87..8..23..66..23..98..45 ....


    sorry.. :o
  • ihepfihepf
    7,22,54,12,87,23,12,45,76,5,78,12,54,97,4,23,87,8,23,66,23,98,45

    converted to alphabetic characters using a cyclic alphabet where a follows z etc...

    gives: GVBLIWLSXEZLBSDWIHWNWTS

    reducing multiple same characters gives:

    GVBLIWSXEZDWNHT

    VWXZ are freak letters, lets set them aside.

    leaving us with:

    GBLISEDHTN

    trough rearranging we get:

    BLIGHT ENDS

    or

    LIGHT BENDS

    which are both true statements.

    so... which one is it? :p
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    That is strange, I am sure it would feel a lot more stranger if I actually experienced it rather than reading about it. How long did you listen to the number readings for?
    Hi Tom.. sorry, didn't see your question.

    It was actually a pretty disturbing situation. We were in a wilderness area bounded by white quartzite mountains.... a long paddle and portage from the access road to the south.
    We had a cargo canoe with a kayak in tow. Once setting up camp we agreed that we would each do our own thing. I painted in camp, and he took the kayak to do some freehand cliff climbing several miles to the east. We were supposed to check in with each other by radio every two hours. Apart from the elements and the confusing bush, it isn't that dangerous, bears for instance are still scared of people and do not harass. But, after the second check-in I could not reach him.. and as the sun began to set an autumn gale moved in and I got worried. Being left alone with the cargo canoe I was windbound. I made a big fire and started to consider calling for assistance from the coastguard... imagining my friend lying injured in the hills somewhere. That's when I began searching for the frequency and encountered the number voice... it was... odd. I listen for a while thinking it might have nautical info, conditions on nearby Georgian Bay... but it just went on all spooky . I eventually found the coast guard frequency and was just about to make the call when my friend stumbled into camp covered in scratches and abrasions. He and dropped his radio down a mountain notch, then had his GPS go all screwy. It was in an interesting trip.



    haha, that does sound like an interesting trip. Why was your friend covered in scratches? Had he falled several feet or something?
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    7,22,54,12,87,23,12,45,76,5,78,12,54,97,4,23,87,8,23,66,23,98,45

    converted to alphabetic characters using a cyclic alphabet where a follows z etc...

    gives: GVBLIWLSXEZLBSDWIHWNWTS

    reducing multiple same characters gives:

    GVBLIWSXEZDWNHT

    VWXZ are freak letters, lets set them aside.

    leaving us with:

    GBLISEDHTN

    trough rearranging we get:

    BLIGHT ENDS

    or

    LIGHT BENDS

    which are both true statements.

    so... which one is it? :p
    No it is just lottery advice, I am pretty sure about that.
  • seeker242seeker242 Zen Florida, USA Veteran
    Do you recall the frequency? I wonder if I can tune into it. :) I have a serious radio setup at my shop as I'm a radio tech by trade. I can tune into pretty much anything. Of course it would depend on the power output of the transmitter and the frequency. Some frequencies can go thousands and thousands of miles on as little as 100-150 watts. I sometimes tune into the airport frequencies and listen to the planes come in. It's pretty interesting, but not really creepy like random numbers, ha! :)
  • ihepfihepf


    German number station.

    "Attention attention. We are calling crokodile. Polish denture."

    hahaha.

  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    I listened to that documentary that @Dandelion posted and although these stations exist and although tehy most likely are meant for government spies, the peple who spend their lives listening in day after day are IMO wasting a lot of their time because they will never be able to crack the codes and never be able to track the signal to a specific place. If they are enjoying themselves though, I guess let them be, it makes them happt :p
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    It's a frequency on air designed to give Conspiracy theorists something to talk about thereby distracting them from other matters such as UFO's, 9/11, astral projection and the Hadron Collider.

    I think.
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited March 2012

    haha, that does sound like an interesting trip. Why was your friend covered in scratches? Had he falled several feet or something?
    Because without his GPS working, he had to sight the lake where he left his kayak from higher a elevation, and make a straight line through whatever was in between... mainly scree and thick bush.
  • lamaramadingdonglamaramadingdong Veteran
    Number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9...
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    "lick my 9" - Dr Evil
  • personperson Don't believe everything you think The liminal space Veteran
    7,22,54,12,87,23,12,45,76,5,78,12,54,97,4,23,87,8,23,66,23,98,45

    converted to alphabetic characters using a cyclic alphabet where a follows z etc...

    gives: GVBLIWLSXEZLBSDWIHWNWTS

    reducing multiple same characters gives:

    GVBLIWSXEZDWNHT

    VWXZ are freak letters, lets set them aside.

    leaving us with:

    GBLISEDHTN

    trough rearranging we get:

    BLIGHT ENDS

    or

    LIGHT BENDS

    which are both true statements.

    so... which one is it? :p
    Or send blight... much more ominous. :eek:
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    oh, so... it's a colorado beetle warning?
  • ZaylZayl Veteran
    edited March 2012
    Yeah doesn't it have something to do with a relay warning system or communications network in the event of a nuclear holocaust? I also hear they are used to communicate with spies in a fool-proof and impossible to decrypt fashion. Each number having a unique meaning known only to the spy and his/her government handler.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    Who'd know?
    Know anyone we can ask.....?
  • DandelionDandelion London Veteran
    Who'd know?
    Know anyone we can ask.....?
    I Could tell you all but then i'd have to kill you all :-D
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    ...well at a time when we are being told that Iranian mushroom clouds will be hanging over our cities if we don't huury up and have that war alr
    7,22,54,12,87,23,12,45,76,5,78,12,54,97,4,23,87,8,23,66,23,98,45

    converted to alphabetic characters using a cyclic alphabet where a follows z etc...

    gives: GVBLIWLSXEZLBSDWIHWNWTS

    reducing multiple same characters gives:

    GVBLIWSXEZDWNHT

    VWXZ are freak letters, lets set them aside.

    leaving us with:

    GBLISEDHTN

    trough rearranging we get:

    BLIGHT ENDS

    or

    LIGHT BENDS

    which are both true statements.

    so... which one is it? :p
    Or send blight... much more ominous. :eek:

    mmm. the translation I got is...

    TELL THE MELON IT IS RAINING IN DUSSELDORF.



  • DandelionDandelion London Veteran
    @RichardH lol, I hope your translation is the correct one, it tickled me ha!
  • ihepfihepf


    mmm. the translation I got is...

    TELL THE MELON IT IS RAINING IN DUSSELDORF.
    sadly there is no smiley that crys from laughter... :bawl:
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    Happy to worthy a chuckle :D
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    Maybe these numberstations are projects or even family members of Steven Hawking communicating with each other. Just a thought, it could be so..
  • SileSile Veteran
    edited March 2012
    Snippets from Wiki:

    In 2001, the United States tried the Cuban Five on the charge of spying for Cuba. That group had received and decoded messages that had been broadcast from a Cuban numbers station. (Sokol, Brett (February 8, 2001). "Espionage Is in the Air". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on 2001-02-21.)

    "The one-way voice link (OWVL) described a covert communications system that transmitted messages to an agent's unmodified shortwave radio...The transmissions were contained in a series of repeated random number sequences...As long as the agent's cover could justify possessing a shortwave radio and he was not under technical surveillance, high-frequency OWVL was a secure and preferred system for the CIA during the Cold War." (H. Keith Melton, Spycraft, p. 438)

    According to some, numbers stations are attested since WWI. I've never understood why, in the age of cellphones, this method of communication would still be relied upon, but it certainly is, judging by the sheer number of stations operating. And judging by the still-scarce info on these stations, this method really does guarantee more anonymity.

    Shortwave signals are also capable of traveling very, very far, and other than attempted jamming, can't be "turned off" at either end by any government in the way cellphone service can. But shortwave is also so susceptible to interference, that it just boggles the mind to think it would be the preferred medium. Again, maybe the anonymity makes it worth the risk. And of course the indecipherability. But why not use the numbers/one-time pads over relatively clearer cellphone connections, at least in some cases? I suppose because, no matter how "anonymous" the cellphone, there's still a number assigned to it which gives away country-of-origin?

    "Zero. Uno. Cinco. Ocho. Dos"...I can still hear her voice, decades later.
Sign In or Register to comment.